Eastern Europe 2

This blog discusses the Catholic Church in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia

Belarus

What is now Belarus became part of Kyivan Rus in the 9th Century.  During the 10th and 11th Centuries, Kyivan Rus was the most powerful nation in Europe.  Eventually Kyivan Rus became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  Belarus became part of the Russian Empire in 1795.  There was a brief period of independence following the First World War, but within a year, Belarus was split between Poland and the Soviet Union.  The Soviets took all of Belarus during the Second World War and held it until 1991.

Catholicism came to Belarus at least by the 10th Century and a diocese was established in Turau in the early 11th Century and an archdiocese in Polotsk in the 17th Century.  Catholicism was and is especially strong in the western part of the country.

Over 48 percent of the 9.5 million citizens of Belarus are Orthodox Christians.  Catholics account for 7 percent (although some estimates are higher) and atheists account for 41 percent.  Most Catholics are Roman-rite Catholics that are served by the Catholic Province of Minsk-Mohilev.

There are a small number of Eastern-rite Catholics in Belarus.  Armenian-rite Catholics are part of the 7-nation Ordinariate of East Europe, which was established in 1991, is headquartered in Gyumri, Armenia, and is immediately subject to the Pope.  Belarussian-rite Catholics are served by the Apostolic Administration of Belarus which was created in 2023.  This Rite, which has about 9,000 members in Belarus and several other countries, reunited with Rome in the 1600s.  There are about a dozen parishes in Belarus and two or three in other European countries.   

Province of Minsk-Mogilev

The province consists of all Roman-rite Catholics in Belarus.  The Diocese of Minsk was established in 1798 and became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev in 1991.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minsk was built in 1710 by the Poles for the Jesuits.  The Baroque church was damaged by fire in 1797, but was restored and became the Cathedral for the Diocese of Minsk.  The Soviet Union closed the Cathedral in 1934 and it was not returned to the Church until 1993.  Renovations were completed in 1997, including restoration of 18th Century frescoes.  See katedra.by.

The first picture is from a local website, the second is from Pinterest, and the last two from Wikipedia.

The Co-Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Stanislaus is in Mogilev.  The church was built in the mid-1700s and became the Cathedral for the Diocese of Mogilev in 1783.  Ten years later, it became the Cathedral for the Archdiocese of Mogilev and was rebuilt.  The Cathedral was closed by the Soviets between 1956 and 1990.  Restoration took until 1994.

The top picture is from Dreamstime ad the other two are from Wikipedia.

The Province has three suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Pinsk was created in 1925.
• The Diocese of Grodno was created in 1991.
• The Diocese of Vitebsk was created in 1999.

Latvia

The Latvians have been under the control of stronger neighbors—Germans, Poles, Swedes, or Russians—since the 8th Century.  They experienced a brief period of independence following the First World War, but were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940.  They once again became independent in 1991, although Russian troops did not leave until 1994.  Ethnic Russians account for a quarter of all Latvians today—a continued source of tension between Latvia and Russia.

King Canute of Denmark brought Catholicism to what is now Latvia in the 11th Century and evangelization was completed by the early 13th Century.  By that time, Latvia had half a dozen dioceses.  However, the Protestant Reformation was successful in Latvia and Lutheranism became the dominant religion after 1530.

Latvia has 1.9 million people and 36 percent are Lutheran.  Catholics make up about 20 percent of the population and Orthodox Christians about 17 percent.  Many Latvians have no religious preference.  Roman-rite Catholics are served by the Province of Riga.  Armenian-rite Catholics are part of the 7-nation Ordinariate of East Europe, which was established in 1991, is headquartered in Gyumri, Armenia, and is immediately subject to the Pope.

Province of Riga

The province consists of all Roman-rite Catholics in Latvia.  The Diocese of Uxhall was established in 1186 and renamed Riga in 1202.  It became a metropolitan archdiocese in 1255 before being suppressed in 1561.  It was restored as a diocese in 1918, an archdiocese in 1923, and once again became a metropolitan archdiocese in 1937.

St. James Cathedral in Riga was built in a Gothic style between 1212 and 1225.  The red brick church was not originally a cathedral—the original cathedral is now a Lutheran church.  St. James itself became a Lutheran church in 1522.  It was returned to Catholics between 1582 and 1621 before it once again became a Lutheran church.  The church once again became a Catholic church in 1923.  The Cathedral has one 300-foot spire.

The first picture is from Flickr and the others are from Wikipedia.

The Province has three suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Liepaja was created in 1937.
• The Diocese of Jelgava was created in 1995.
• The Diocese of Rezekne-Aglona was created in 1995.

Lithuania

Lithuania became a nation in 1236 and within 150 years was the largest in Europe.  An alliance with Poland in 1386 and a union with Poland in 1569 made it one of the most powerful nations in Europe.  The union ended in 1795 with the territory being absorbed by neighboring powers.  Lithuania regained independence after the First World War but was absorbed by the Soviet Union in 1940.  Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 although Russian troops remained there until 1993.

Catholicism came to Lithuania in 1251 and by 1417 had become the dominant religion.  The Church led most of the resistance to Communism during the Soviet occupation.  Lithuania has 2.8 million people and 77 percent are Catholic.  About 6 percent are either Orthodox or Protestant and 16 percent have no particular religion.  There are two Roman-rite Catholic provinces—Kaunas and Vilnius.  Armenian-rite Catholics are part of the 7-nation Ordinariate of East Europe, which was established in 1991, is headquartered in Gyumri, Armenia, and is immediately subject to the Pope.  Also, a military diocese was established in 2000.

Province of Vilnius

The province consists eastern Lithuania.  The Diocese of Vilnius was established in 1388 and became a metropolitan archdiocese in 1925.  

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus is in Vilnius.  A church has existed on the site since 1215, but various buildings were destroyed and rebuilt.  Although portions date to the 15th Century, the current Cathedral was mostly built between 1779 and 1783 in a Neo-Classical style.  The Cathedral has 11 chapels, the most prominent being the 17th Century Baroque Chapel built to house the remains of St. Casimir.  There are also several frescoes.  Statues of St. Casimir, St. Stanislaus, and St. Helena were placed on the roof in the late 18th Century.  The Soviets destroyed these statues and closed the Cathedral.  After the Cathedral reopened in 1988, copies of the statues were once again placed on the roof.  The Cathedral also has a 190-foot tall freestanding bell tower.  Pope John Paul II declared the Cathedral a minor basilica in 1985.

The first picture is from Pinterest and the rest are from Wikipedia.

The Province has two suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Kaisiadorys was created in 1926.
• The Diocese of Panevezys was created in 1926.

Province of Kaunas

The province consists of western Lithuania.  The Diocese of Zemaitija was established in 1417 and became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaunas in 1926. 

The Cathedral Basilica of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul in Kaunas was originally built in the early 17th Century, but after sustaining damage in a war, was substantially rebuilt in 1671.  The red-brick building was originally built in a Gothic style, but Renaissance features were added in the rebuild.  A 1732 fire destroyed the roof and both towers, only one of which was rebuilt.  Much of the internal decoration was funded in 1771 by Stanislaw Poniatowski, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.  The Cathedral was declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

The first two pictures are from Pinterest and the rest are from Wikipedia.Pictures with sources

The Province has three suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Telsiai was created in 1926.
• The Diocese of Vilkaviskis was created in 1926.
• The Diocese of Siauliai was created in 1997.

Russia

The Principality of Muscovy was established in the 12th Century and began expansion into surrounding territories.  The Romanov Dynasty began in the early 17th Century and continued to expand Russia throughout Asia and Europe.  The Romanov’s were overthrown by Communists in 1917 and the Soviet Union was soon formed.  The Soviet Union lasted until 1991 when 15 independent nations, including Russia, were formed.

The Rus people were converted in Catholicism in the late 10th Century, but became Russian Orthodox with the Great Schism of 1054.  Thanks to pressure from Catholic nations on Russian’s western borders, such as Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and Lithuania, some Catholics remained in Russia.  A diocese was established at Smolensk in 1636—located near Russia’s border with Belarus.  It was suppressed in 1818.

Catholics suffered horribly under Communist rule.  Between 1917 and 1959, 55 bishops were killed and 199 imprisoned or exiled; 13,000 priests and monks were killed and 32,000 were imprisoned or exiled; and 2.5 million lay people were killed and 10 million imprisoned or exiled.  After the Soviet Union collapsed, many of the Catholics who remained returned to their native countries, such as Germany, Belarus, and the Ukraine.  Tensions remain between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia has 142 million people and 15-20 percent are Russian Orthodox and another 10-15 percent are Muslim.  Other Christians account for about 2 percent of the total.  There are about one million Catholics in Russia, mostly in the far eastern part of the country.  Most Russians are atheists.

Most Russian Catholics belong to the Roman-rite and are served by the Province of Moscow.  About 1,000 Catholics live on Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands in far eastern Russia.  They are served by the Apostolic Prefecture of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, which is immediately subject to the Pope.  This was established as a Mission sui juris in 1932 before becoming an apostolic prefecture in 1938.

There are about 60,000 Armenian-rite Catholics in Russia who are part of the 7-nation Ordinariate of East Europe.  The Ordinariate was established in 1991, is headquartered in Gyumri, Armenia, and is immediately subject to the Pope.  There may also be some Russian-rite Catholics.  The Russian-rite reunited with Rome in 1905.  These Catholics are served by the Apostolic Exarchate of Russia, which was established in 1917 and is immediately subject to the Pope.  There has not been a bishop since 1951.   

Province of Mother of God at Moscow

The province consists of most Roman Catholics in Russia.  The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow was created as an apostolic administration in 1991 before becoming a metropolitan archdiocese in 2002.

The red-brick Cathedral of the Mother of God (Immaculate Conception) in Moscow was built in a neo-Gothic style between 1899 and 1911.  It is the largest Catholic church in Russia and is modeled after Westminster Abbey and the Milan cathedral.  The Communists closed the Cathedral in 1838 and used it as a warehouse and even as a hostel.  It reopened as a church in 1996.  Renovations were completed in 2005.  Masses are celebrated in eight languages.  The Cathedral can seat 5,000 and has 28-foot tall stained glass windows that have abstract designs.  The main altar and ambo are made with a dark green marble.  The pipe organ was donated by a Swiss church and has 74 stops, 4 manuals, and 5,563 pipes.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

The Province has three suffragan dioceses.

• The Diocese of Saint Joseph at Irkutsk was created as an apostolic administration in 1999 and became a diocese in 2002.
• The Diocese of Saint Clement at Saratov was created as an apostolic administration in 1999 and became a diocese in 2002.  This diocese is descended from the Diocese of Tiraspol, which was established in 1848, but was inactive after the bishop was exiled in 1918 by the Communists.
• The Diocese of Transfiguration at Novosibirsk was created as an apostolic administration in 1991 and became a diocese in 2002.  It replaced the Diocese of Vladivostok which had been created in 1923.

Definitions

The Catholic Church is mostly divided into ecclesiastical provinces—a province consists of a metropolitan archdiocese and one or more dioceses.  The province and the archdiocese are led by an archbishop.  Each of the dioceses is called a suffragan diocese and is led by a bishop.  Archbishops have some responsibilities for the province, but all bishops answer directly to the Pope.  There are also missionary jurisdictions below the level of a diocese, such as apostolic administrations.

Most Catholics in the world belong to the Latin or Roman rite.  Rite refers to liturgical practices, ecclesiastical discipline, and spiritual heritage.  Many Catholics belong to one of two dozen Eastern rite churches.  Eastern rite churches trace their heritage to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  Eastern rite churches sometimes use different terminologies.  For example, a diocese might be called an eparchy and is led by an eparch.  A vicariate apostolic is called an exarchy and is led by an exarch. 

A basilica is an honorary title bestowed on a church by the Pope because of the church’s antiquity, dignity, historical importance, or significance as a center of worship.  Some cathedrals are also basilicas.  Each basilica has a ceremonial umbrella in the papal colors of white and yellow and a ceremonial bell.  Both of these are symbolic of the Pope’s special relationship to the basilica.